Temp gauge road driving shows about 92CElectric fans come on about 90C as best I can tellWhen shift light was set at 6500 track temp would run about 98CChanged shift light to 7000, track temp went to about 103c

Front nose cone isn't really ducted, just has a big low hole that is pretty much filled with the intercooler.

Looking at other makes of cars, they often seem to have additional air holes above that area, that would give some decent flow directly to the top part of the radiator. Next practise day I'll take the whole nose cone off and see if that cools it down a bit, as I can't keep driving it at those temps.

So the question is, will cutting a new higher air intake help in cooling, or should I be looking harder at radiator condition, thicker radiator, theromstat fully opening etc. Will post some pics

texel wrote:Temp gauge road driving shows about 92CElectric fans come on about 90C as best I can tell

The radiator fans should not need to be on under normal road driving,as the airflow should be enough to keep it cool.Fans should only be needed when stationary or going slow,at speed fans are a resistance to airflow even when running.

How accurate are those temps measured?What is the thermostat temperature?

Can all the hot air get out from under the bonnet area easily? Years ago the 4WD Escort rally cars had cooling problems. Opening up the front to get more air in didn't solve it but a couple of vents on the bonnet did.

Could also be that not enough air can get through the radiator with the way the fan mountings are. Take one out the next time you're at the track and see what happens, because as Matt said, they're just a restriction at speed.

Bonnet is pretty well vented, see pic so don't think there would be a pressure building up behind the radiator.

Temp is displayed on a electric gauge with sender in the top hose, can't say its exact, but the 103 temp certainly smells hot, and blew a heater hose off, so probably about right.

Thermostat, don't know the details on it, assume factory, if it was a bit easier to get out, I would give it a good boil up and see what happens.

TK test, don't even want to think about that, but can't be dismissed.

Pic show the nose off, its hard to believe the radiatator is getting a fair suck of the sav, with the IC where it is, I can drop it probably 100mm if I had to, or just put a tube in its place to see if the cooling improves.

Car was a drift car, which I think went okay doing that, but probably not set up so well for circuit work at high revs for longer

Probably worth testing with the pipe and see if the cooling improves. Heaps of ducting and decent fans pulling air out does make a difference too. How about radiator cap? I used to run civic on track and sometimes it would get over 110 but never blew any hoses off.

Took it for a 12km road run with the nose on and got temps of 85-86C, then did the same with the nose off and got 81-82C, 100kph and no boost to speak of. Themostat etc seem to be working fine.

Next step is to do the same on the track at WOT and full boost and see what happens

I still think the IC blocking the rad, and no direct flow of air onto the radiator is a oversight, plently of other cars had an IC hole and a separate one for the top of the rad, like R32 for example. Even a 4wd with a high mount winch in front of the rad can give heating issues.

Pic below of a supra in japan with a rad cut in the nose, makes sense to me, but I'll do a bit more experimenting to see. Cheers

Air will try to go around an obstruction rather than through itBlock up any tiny gap to make sure all the air can only go through the radiator.Seal between the edges of the inter cooler and the radiator - so any air that has gone through the intercooler cannot escape and go around the radiator.

Airflow through the radiator depends on pressure difference - think about adding a stiff flexible air dam directly below the radiator to increase the pressure difference in front and behind the radiator.

What mix of coolant do you use?Pure water has the greatest heat transferTry using lower amounts of anti freeze - just enough to prevent corrosion - I'm sure it wont be anywhere that you'll need to worry about coolant freezing overnight

I used to think that the orange and green tictacs gave you special powers. The orange ones would make you stronger and the green ones would make you faster. So i used to eat some green ones and run around my lounge as fast as i could, then eat the orange ones and try to pick up the sofa. I wish it were true!